John Lester Brady

John Lester Brady was born November 23, 1924, on the family farm near Ingleside Baptist Church in the Campobello-Landrum area of Spartanburg County to Oren L. Brady, Sr. and Gussie Edwards Brady.  He attended Southside and Pine Street Elementary Schools and graduated from Spartanburg High School in the Class of 1942. He attended the University of Alabama and Clemson University, graduating from Clemson in the Class of 1947 with a degree in Textile Engineering. 

John served in the Army of the United States from November 1942 until October 1944 in the 106 Signal Company of the 106th Infantry Division.  He was Charter Member of Westminster Presbyterian Church where he served as a Deacon, an Elder, and the Clerk of Session. 

John worked with Inman Mills in Inman, SC and the Milliken Company at Johnston, SC He spent most of his career with Reeves Brothers, Inc. in Spartanburg where he worked for more than 39 years, first as Accounting Manager and then as Corporate Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer.  He was a member of the Johnston, SC Jaycees; a Charter Member of the Spartanburg Sertoma Club; and recently a member of the Executive Sertoma Club of Spartanburg. He served as a board member of the Mental Health Association of the Piedmont, the Greenville Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the Portals Apartments of Greenville, the Spartanburg Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the New Day Clubhouse of Spartanburg, Newport Apartments and Wilkinson Place Apartments. John was a member of the Board of Directors and served as Treasurer for the National Alliance for Mental Illness-South Carolina (NAMI-SC). He also served on the Board of the Spartanburg Area Mental Health Center for several years. 

In recognition of his service in the Mental Health/Illness field, he and his deceased wife, Sallie Grist Brady, received the NAMI-SC Solid Gold Member Award in 1998 and he received the award again in 2000. He was a recipient of the J. William Davenport Distinguished Service Award from the Mental Health Association of the Piedmont and the Alma and T.R. Garrison Award from the Spartanburg County Health Planning Commission. 

John was a Clemson IPTAY Representative for over 50 years. He was a member of the Clemson University National Alumni Council and a member of the Clemson University Board of Visitors. In 2003, he received the John Fleming-Grove Henry Lifetime Achievement Award from the Spartanburg Clemson Club for services to Clemson. 

Surviving are his sons, John L. Brady, Jr. (Donna) of Atlanta, Ga., and Earl Grist Brady of Anderson, SC; stepdaughter, Joy Nanney Finch (Boyd) of Inman, SC; sister-in-law Evelyn Loomis Brady of Spartanburg, SC. He was predeceased by his wife, Mary Ramey Johnson Brady and his first wife, Sallie Catherine Grist Brady; brother, Oren L. Brady, Jr.; sisters, Helma Brady Shields, Euna Mae Brady Lowry, and Rebecca Brady Cunningham. 

Visitation will be from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Sunday, December 3, 2023, at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm Monday, December 4, 2023, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 309 Fernwood Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29307 conducted by the Rev. Steve Wise and Rev. Dale Rawlings. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to NAMI Spartanburg, 358 A Serpentine Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29303.